In-situ characterization of impact damage in carbon fibre reinforced polymers using infrared thermography

[Display omitted] •In-situ quantification of impact damage accelerates material development.•Fast infrared imaging allows for identification of failure mechanism in composites.•Passive infrared thermography exhibits increased sensitivity and accuracy. Passive Infrared Thermography (pIRT) was evaluated for its capability for in situ monitoring of impact events in thin-walled fiber reinforced polymer composites. Low velocity impact events with low impact energy lead to barely visible, or even invisible from the outside damages in fiber reinforced polymer composites, severly limiting its light weight construction potential. A new method for evaluation of thermograms of pIRT in the frequency domain is proposed to gain insight in the dynamic of crack formation as well as precise quantification of damage extent in situ during impact testing. Results on aircraft grade carbon fiber reinforced composites illustrates the potential of this method.